Bring 1 inch of water to a boil in a large saucepan. Place potatoes in a steamer basket and steam, covered, until just cooked through, about 15 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl and cover to keep warm.

Meanwhile, heat butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook until translucent, about 2 minutes. Add cabbage and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until the cabbage begins to brown, about 5 minutes.

Reduce heat to low. Stir in milk, salt and white pepper; cover and cook until the cabbage is tender, about 8 minutes. Add the cabbage mixture to the potatoes. Mash with a potato masher or a large fork to desired consistency.

Whenever I see a woman in spike heels, I shudder first, then dig out my business card and hand it to her, saying that she'll need my help soon (for back pain) if she continues to wear them all the time. In fact, there are a couple of women in our local Chamber of Commerce, that smile whenever they see me, and tell me they have my business card for when they'll need it.

Yet, many television personalities like Oprah continue to advertise their love of high heels - the higher the better. In O magazine this month there are no less than twelve photos of women in very high heels and 5 additional ads/photos of high heels. Makes me want to scream!

I was happy to see that my friend Dr. Carolyn Dean also feels this way about high heels. In her recent Blog Post, she has a lot more to say about High Heel Trauma. Please read her post along with my prior post and at least limit your use of high heels to very special occasions only!

There are a few easy things you can do to quickly beef up your immunity and lose that fall cold. Firstly, take some extra vitamin C. Then eat foods with lots of vitamin C. Here are your top ten choices and the amount of vitamin C they provide:

Red and Green Hot Chili Peppers. Green chilies provide more vitamin C than any other food with 182 mg in a half cup chopped, and 109 mg in a single green chili pepper. Red chilies provide 108 mg per half cup chopped, and 65 mg per pepper. You can add them to soups, stews and salads.

Guavas come in second with 377 mg per cup, and 126 mg per fruit. Add one to your smoothie!

Kale is definitely up there with the mightiest of vegetables, in fact, it may be the top of the pile. One cup contains on 34 calories, yet provides over a thousand percent of the Daily Value for vitamin K, 192% of vitamin A and 88 % of vitamin C. It's also a great source of potassium, with 299 mg. in one cup!

But I didn't grow up eating Kale. Even though we grew many of our own vegetables, Kale just wasn't one of them. I'd never even heard of Kale until well into my adult life and the first time I tried it, I didn't care for it.

In recent years I have been searching out good recipes for Kale, since it's so nutrient rich, and today I'll share my favorite. This Kale Salad is very popular at my friend Michelle's dinner table and, believe it or not, it's a raw dish. The key to this dish, according to Michelle is to make it at least a half hour ahead of time and let it sit in the dressing. That's how the Kale becomes soft - raw Kale is a bit too crunchy for most people. I think it's her dressing which makes the Kale unbelievably delicious - that's the magic!

Here's the recipe:

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/8 cup balsamic vinegar

2 Tbsp. soy sauce

1 tsp. crushed garlic

1 Tbsp. maple syrup

Handful of crushed walnuts (optional)

1 cup of chick peas or kidney beans (optional)

Grated Pecorino cheese (optional)

Mix the dressing together and shake well.

Clean a big bunch of Kale and strip out the center stalks.

Then cut it up, toss with the dressing and let it sit for 30 minutes. When you're ready to eat, toss in the walnuts, beans or whatever else you'd like to try, and add salt and pepper to taste. You can sprinkle the Pecorino on just before serving, or pass it around with the salad and your family can sprinkle or not, as they choose. Experiment with this yummy tasting salad and your body will thank you!

Add the reserved cooking liquid (and more water to make 6 cups), half of the scallions and simmer until potatoes are tender (15 min)

Add cooked quinoa, spinach and remaining scallions and simmer until spinach just begins to wilt. Remove pot from heat and stir in the feta and parsley or cilantro. Taste and season with salt, pepper and lime juice. Top with chopped egg and enjoy!

There are about a bazillion diet books on the market today and I know this can cause information overload! So today, I want to talk about simple dietary changes that will give the biggest bang for your effort – especially when your desire is beating the inflammation, heart disease, back pain and other issues it can cause.

Everyone these days knows at least a little about the Mediterranean diet. It works. It involves eating more fruits, vegetables and fish. Well, I’m not going to tell you to stop eating red meat, or that you need 6 servings of fruits and veggies every day. What I will suggest is that you try out some different vegetables that you may not have ever eaten before. There are many exotic varieties on the market now and also lots of different ways to prepare them. Try one new recipe this week, or one new fruit. Go slowly. Make small changes. Find something you like and then add it to your weekly shopping list. It IS possible to make very small changes that have a large impact on your health. For instance, replacing one serving of beef steak (32 grams of saturated fat) a week with one serving of tuna steak (2 grams of saturated fat) cuts out 30 grams of saturated fat from your diet! When grilled lightly and still pink in the middle, the flavor of the tuna steak is very similar to the steak your are replacing. This is just one example, but you get the idea. My mother would shudder if she heard me say this, but, play with your food! Try something different once a week until you find what works for you so that you eat more Mediterranean.

Here's a short video for those days when you have to sit for several hours in a long meeting, or presentation/workshop.

The piriformis is a thick muscle that can tighten up after sitting for a long time and what a pain in the rear that is! Well, here is a good stretch for that pesky piriformis and you'll find that when others see you doing it, they'll join in!

I heard an interview with Louise Hay where she spoke in great detail about the health benefits of “bone broth” and I thought – Wow! That sounds cool. I’m going to go and fine her recipe!

What a lovely surprise to discover that it’s the same broth that my mom made in the day and my sister and I still make all the time today!

Homemade broth is so much better than the canned variety. No preservatives, just enough salt and real veggies! Yummm.

We store our chicken bones in bags in the freezer until we get enough together to make a big pot of broth.

Ingredients:

2 large onions chopped

4 or 5 stalks of celery chopped

5 or 6 large garlic cloves chopped

5 or 6 large carrots, chopped

2 or 3 large bay leaves

Preparation:

In a large stockpot, saute onions, celery, garlic and carrots just until soft, then add the bones, bay leaves and cover with water. Bring to a boil, the simmer for at least an hour, stirring occasionally. Cool and remove the bones. Use the stock for soups, stews or just plain – enjoy!